Pneumatic load carrying device



DeC. 1, 1936. 1 Q HEINZE I2,062,574

PNEUMATIC LOAD CARRYING DEVICE Filed April l0, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.,

ATTORNEYS Dec.` l, 1936.

J. o. HElNzE 2,062,574

PNEUMATICI LOAD CARRYING DEVICE Filed April 10, 1955 2 Sheets-She'et 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 1, 1936 p 2,662,574

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlc PNEUMATIC LOAD CARRYING DEVICE John 0. Heinze, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Heinze Development Co., Detroit, Mich.,vaI corporation of Michigan Application April 10, 1935, Serial No. 15,661

8 Claims. (Cl. 267-35) This invention relates to a yieldable load Supand Confined Within Said Casing t @Online 'Said porting device, and more particularly to a dechamber therein and prevent undue expansion vice for the purpose, which is of the pneumatic thereOf under load applied t0 the upper end 0f bellows type. `the bellows.

An object of the present invention is to provide The flexible wall 4 of the bellows is corrugated r5 a device which is a complete unit in itself and circumferentially to provide a series of hollow may be used individually or in multiple within a, ribs 5 and intermediate grooves 6,'and to prevent structure to provide a soft yielding action under radial expansion of these grooves, a continuous i light loads and to offer yielding resistance sufiimetal ring 7 preferably formed o-f a round wire 10 cient to support the maximum load for which the Or the like, is seated within the bottom of each 10 device is designed to carry. groove. The bellows is thus constrained against A further object is to provide such a unit having undue eXDanSiOn radially and consequent a minimum over all height, by providing an auxstraightening out of the folds or 'corrugations of iliary air chamber as part of the unit, to increasel its wall under undue internal pressure, but iS free the volumetric Capacity of the bellows, thereby te collapse in an endwise direction under load, 15 increasing its range of yielding action without the folds or corrugations of the wall being mainthe necessity for increasing its length. tained and said wall being reinforced by these It is also an object to provide a complete unit rings. construction of maximum capacity and minimum The wall 4 is continuous across the upper end bulk, by forming such air chamber as an integral of the bellows, forming an end wall 8 positively `20 part of a bellows and by providing a metal cup closing this end, and this flexible end wall is or casing to receive and coni-lne said air cham- Seated within a sheet metal end cap 9 having a ber and prevent undue expansion thereof under peripheral flange l0, the upper end 0f the helload, said cup or casing being also adapted to lows being thus confined within said cap to mainform a rigid base or support for the unit. tain said end in desired shape against undue ex- 25 It is also an object to provide an air valve of pansion or bulging under internal air pressure. simple construction as an integral part of one The wall 4 is continued at the lower end of of the enclosing metal parts of the unit, so arthe bellows to form the wall of the air chamber ranged as to greatly facilitate the iniiation of 2 with said bellows located centrally of the upper said air chamber and bellows, and to provide Wall of said chamber and in direct open commu- 30 certain other new and useful features, all as nication with said Ichamber, said chamber being hereinafter more fully described, reference being seated within said base cup or casing 3, and thus had to the accompanying drawings wherein said chamber and bellows are held in symmetrical Fig. 1 is a substantially vertical, central, longirelation and a symmetrical unit 0f Compact Cylintudinal section through a device illustrative of drical form iS DIOVided, and Which unit` iS Of 35 an embodiment of the present invention; minimum height due to the provision of said air Fig. 2 is an end elevation with parts broken chamber as an integral part thereof.

away and in section; To facilitate the introduction of air under pres- Fig. 3 is a sectional detail substantially upon sure into said chamber and bellows and to form the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; a valve to hold the introduced air against escape, 40

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section showing a modithe bottom wall of the base cup or casing 3 is fled construction; and formed, centrally thereof, with an inwardly and Fig. 5 is a similar section showing a further upwardly projecting tapered teat or nipple H,

modification. closed at its upper end and provided with one As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, I indicates or more air holes l2 in its side wall at a distance 45 as a whole, a bellows having a continuous wall of below said closed end, and the bottom wall of` said rubber or other suitable iiexible material, this air chamber which is seated upon said bottom wall being continued from the lower end of said wall of said cup, is likewise formed with bellows to form an integral air chamber 2 forma central tubular part I3 to be sleeved over the ing the base or lower end of said bellows and into metal nipple I l and to cover said holes in the side 50 which said bellows opens lcentrally thereof, said Wall thereof. As this tube I3 is formed of the vchamber being of circular form with a rounded same flexible material or rubber as the wall of periphery t0 Seat Within a has@ Cup 01 Casing 3, the chamber, it will ilt colsely against the wall of formed preferably, of sheet metal and forming the nipple and will yield or expand when air under the base 0f the unit, Said Chamber being seated pressure is forced through the holes I2, and per- 55 mit the air to enter the air chamber. Upon discontinuance of the forcing of air through said openings, this tubular rubber sleeve will contract, seating over and eifectually sealing these holes against the escape therethrough of air from the chamber and this sealing effect is enhanced by the pressure of air in the chamber. A valvular device of very simple construction is thus provided, and as the wall of the nipple II is inward- 1y tapered, a tapered nozzle indicated at I4 in dotted lines, on the end of an air hose, may be seated within said nipple to provide a connection for introducing air under pressure into the air chamber.

To limit the expansion of the bellows so that an air pressure may be introduced therein when there is no load thereon, or expansion thereof otherwise limited, straps I5 are provided, these straps extending across the cap 9 in crossed relation, down the sides of the unit and across the bottom of the base cup 3 in like manner, each strap being just long enough to limit the upward expansion movement of the bellows to the desired extent.

With the present complete unit construction, the unit may be assembled and air under pressure introduced therein to any desired extent according to the use to which it is to be put, making the bellows easily compressible, as where a number of units are assembled in a cushion where the load is comparatively light, or inflated under heavy pressure where a heavy load is to be carried by one or more of the units, and inflation is gratly facilitatd by the arrangement of the valve nipple which forms a socket into which a tapered hose nozzle is inserted without the necessity for a threaded connection, and this nipple extends into the air chambr leaving the exterior of the cup free of projections. The rubber sleeve which is formed integral with the chamber wall, provides a very efficient closure for the holes in the nipple, the greater the air pressure the more closely the sleeve contacts the nipple, and thus a very efficient valve is provided which insures against leakage, as the sleeve is a part of the chamber wall.

By forming the bellows as part of the air chamber, the over-all length of the unit may be greatly decreased as the volumetric capacity of the bellows is, in effect, greatly increased by said chamber, and a very compact, simple construction is secured, the cup or casing 3 serving as a base or other support for the unit and enclosing means for the air chamber to limit its expansion, and this base may, if found desirable, be formed with any suitable means for securing it in place within a particular structure.

A modified construction is shown in Fig. 4, in that the bellows I is formed with an integral air chamber I6 at its upper end, which chamber is a duplicate of the chamber 2 at its lower end, and this upper chamber is inclosed within a sheet metal casing I'I which is substantially a duplicate of the casing 3 for the lower chamber, thus dispensing with the necessity for the cap 9, and as the two casings 3 and I1 are substantial duplicates, but one forming die is required, the only difference between the two casings being that the inwardly projecting nipple I8 of the casing I'I is devoid of the openings I2 and performs no function as an air valve in use.

A further modified construction is shown in Fig. 5 wherein the bellows structure is divided intermediate its ends to form a lower end bellows I9 forming the lower end of the unit and an upper bellows 20 forming the upper end of the unit, the

adjacent open ends of these bellows I9 and 20, being connected by an intermediate air chamber 2l, the wall 22 of which is a continuation of the wall of each bellows, which bellows walls are both corrugated the same as the bellows I and reinforced in the same way by the metal rings I seated in the grooves of the corrugations. A sheet metal casing 23 of ring shape and curved in cross section to conform to the exterior of the casing 2| is provided to enclose said chamber and limit the expansion thereof, and this casing may, if found desirable, be formed with outwardly projecting ears 24 as supporting or holding means therefor to support or tie the unit within a structure in which it may be assembled. The lower bellows I9 is preferably provided with an end cap 25 similar to the cap 9 and the upper end of the upper bellows 20 is provided with a cap 26 which is n formed with a central inwardly extending integral nipple 21 having holes in the sides thereof and over which a tube 28 formed integral with the end wall of the bellows, is sleeved to provide a valve structure similar to that disclosed in the Figs. 1 and 4 and for the same purpose.

Obviously other changes in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts, may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and I do not, therefore, wish to limit myself to the particular construction shown.

What I claim is:-

1. A device for the purpose described including a bellows having a closed end and formed at its opposite end with an air chamber of greater diameter than the diameter of said bellows and into which chamber one end of said bellows directly opens, said bellows, said end and said chamber being formed by a continuous exible wall.

2. A device for the purpose described including a bellows having a closed end and formed at its opposite end with an integral, expansible air chamber, and a non-expansible casing to receive said air chamber and resist expansion thereof.

3. A unit device of the character described comprising a bellows, and an expansible air chamber into which one end of said bellows opens, and means encircling said chamber and forming the base of said bellows to `limit expansion of said chamber under load on said bellows.

4. A unit device of the character described comprising a bellows, and an air chamber at one end of said bellows into which said end of said bellows opens, a closure for the opposite end of said bellows, and a metal casing formed to conform to the exterior of said chamber and enclose the same to resist expansion of said chamber under load applied to said bellows.

5. A device of the character described comprising a bellows having a fiexible wall closing an end thereof, a metal member within which said flexible wall is seated, and a valvular device including a nipple formed integral with the wall of said member and over which nipple said fiexible wall is engaged to close the same.

6. A device for the purpose described including a bellows having a flexible wall, said wall being extended to form an expansible air chamber into which an end of said bellows opens, a casing to inclose said chamber and prevent expansion of the wall thereof, and a valvular device including a nipple formed integral with the wall of said casing and over which said flexible wall of said chamber extends.

'7. A device as characterized in claim 6 and wherein said nipple extends inward from the wall of said casing and is provided with a side opening, and wherein the wall of said air chamber is formed with an expansible sleeve to t over said nipple and close said opening.

8. A unit structure for the purpose described comprising a longitudinally expansible cylindrical bellows, a non-expansible fluid chamber into sion of said bellows longitudinally under internal 5 fluid pressure in said chamber and bellows.

JOHN O. HEINZE. 

